


Bright and Bubbly

by cassiel0uwho



Series: Biospecialst Tumblr Prompt Fills [3]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M, Gen, Prompt Fill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-02
Updated: 2014-01-02
Packaged: 2018-01-07 03:32:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1114977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cassiel0uwho/pseuds/cassiel0uwho
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This kind of ran away from me. Opps. Anoymous prompted : hostage situation. Which was just a bit vague hence the run away story that turned out way longer than I thought it would be.</p>
    </blockquote>





	Bright and Bubbly

**Author's Note:**

> This kind of ran away from me. Opps. Anoymous prompted : hostage situation. Which was just a bit vague hence the run away story that turned out way longer than I thought it would be.

“Can you believe it's just a week away?” Jemma asked with a bright smile. 

That smile, bright and bubbly. He's always loved that smile regardless to who it's aimed towards. He loved it even more when it's aimed towards him. When it's just for him and no one else. His own personal wealth of sunshine. When he's the only one meant to see the bright bubbly smiles that grace her lips.

“No.” Grant answered, moving to kiss the top of her head. “Not at all.” She smiles again and goes back to the book she's reading.

There are times when he doubted that they could happy. Happiness in his life was usually a joke. Not that he didn't want to be happy, but being happy with other people just didn't happen often. It didn't help that he closed himself off to most of it. A life of living alone was what he accepted as his fate.

The thing about Jemma's smile, was that they were infectious. When she smiled, you wanted to smile back, and Grant did. He always tried to smile back even if their circumstances were grim, even when her smile wasn't as bright as it should be. Because when she smiled you smiled too. It became a fact in Grant's life.

With her by his side, Grant imagined a happy ending. With or without SHIELD, most likely with it, but definitely with Jemma.  
***  
“What do we do?” She asked, waking Grant up from the light sleep he had just fallen into.

“About what?” He asked, an arm wrapping around the chemist's waist. Her head came to rest on his chest a moment later.

“Well, you know, what are we going to after well you know?”

Grant laughed. She didn't say the word often. She didn't like saying it, she thought it made less real. “I don't know.” He answered after a long thought.'

“What do you want to do?”

Grant sighed. He didn't want to have this conversation now. He wanted to sleep. “I don't know, honestly. I haven't given much thought about it.”

Jemma scoffed. “Well, that's nice to hear.”

Grant rolled his eyes. “I think we've both had enough on our hands to really think about it. We'll have plenty of time after 'you know' to think about it. A whole week to ourselves.” He smiled.

“I'm not leaving SHIELD.” Jemma said, the lack of sleep creeping into her voice.

“Never said you had to.” He said with a smile. “Good night.” He added with a softer tone.

“Love you.” She yawned.

“Love you too.”

***  
“Holocomm in five.” May announced as she passed the couple. There was a slight roll of her eyes at the sight of them.

They got a lot of those. Skye started faking puking noises if they were particularly affectionate towards each other. Coulson was the only one who didn't roll their eyes at them. He usually just smiled, though, sometimes he did shake his head.

It's simple enough. It's a science op, intel only. Observation and sample collecting. He's gotten more protective of Jemma since they've been together. There's always been a certain level of protectiveness and it's only grown. And it grew now knowing he wouldn't be there for her.

“I'll catch you if-” He said as he adjusted the comm in her ear.

“I know.” Jemma smirked. “I fall. I'll see you when I get back.”

“Of course I will.” Because there is no other option. She's coming back. 

“Love you.” She said before kissing his cheek and with another smile she disappeared into the car with May.

He smiled just because she smiled. And that's what you do when she smiled, you smiled back. There's a thought, the kind of thought that betrays everything. Whisperdc the things you don't want to hear.

And it whispered a thought that always kept him up. What if something happened? What if the bright and bubbly smiling chemist didn't come back? And it felt like it was screaming.

Grant swallowed. It was a thought, nothing more. It was a thought that didn't belong. A fear that didn't quite belong, but would always been in his thoughts whether he liked it or not. If he was with her right now it wouldn't be so loud. It was always quiet when he was with her, but now it was screaming.

He paced around the table where the others hovered over it. He shouldn't be so nervous. Intel only. It isn't high risk. And May's there with her. And she'll protect her. Still , his worry didn't ease.

“She'll be fine.” Coulson said in a reassuring tone. 

Fitz and Skye nodded. They were staying quiet too, both worried, but none of them admitted to it.

May updated them as it she went. Small bits of information, though, better than nothing. They helped eased his worry, because it meant Jemma was fine. She didn't have a direct line to the Bus. If someone, and the wrong someone, grabbed her they'd figure out quickly who she was from it. Jemma was patched in with May; she was in safe hands. Even if his thoughts were betraying him now. Every worse possibility flashing by in his head. 

“Simmons?” May's voice crackled through the comm.

Everyone stiffened at her voice, all on high alert. Keeping quiet for May's sake.

“She's just wondered off.” Skye offered, but her heart wasn't in the lie.

“Simmons, come in!”   
There's a long silence filled with tense shoulders and the background noise coming from May's comm.

“Simmons!” There's something different in May's voice. It's firm as usual, but there's something else, something you never want to here coming from her: worry.

Her next words, spoken with more firmness and control, don't offer any comfort. “Coulson I need immediate support. Contact HQ, they need to be made aware of this. We need trackers up, and a search party. Black van, no plates. Pull up satellite, the nearest highway goes south. They...they took her. They took Simmons, sir.” 

He doesn't react. Not in the way people would expect. No flash of movement or harsh words come from him. He stood still and silent. In shock, that's what Jemma would say if she was here.

But she isn't.

Grant's only vaguely aware of the hurried voices shouting back and fourth. The scramble over the holotable to pull of satellite images and tacking.

He tunes into Coulson's voice for the most part. He listens as he calls HQ, and arranges what must be done. Coulson doesn't take no for an answer. Command doesn't want to send personal to help in the search. Coulson wins out on the promise of a favor that was made long ago with who ever is on the other end of the conversation.

There's a light touch to his shoulder. “Ward?” It was Skye. “May just got back. She's in the lab.” She said softly.

Grant looked up from the spot he was staring at for the last hour. The room is empty except for them. His shock dissipates as he thunders down the stairs. 

It would be a comical sight if the circumstances. A scowl was permanent on May's face as she sat on the table in the lab and let Coulson fuss over her as Fitz cleared away the bloody gauze and unwanted items from Coulson's reach.

May could clean up herself, maybe not the gash by her ear, but the shoulder she could deal with. She lets Coulson fuss over her because there's no Simmons to fuss over.

“I'm sorry, Ward. I tried too get to her. They were too fast. If the girl had just stayed by my side like I ordered we wouldn't be in this mess!” The outburst isn't exactly like May, but it's not surprising considering what situation they're in.

“What do we now? I don't care how it happened right now. I just want to do something about this now.” He asked trying to keep his tone neutral, trying to not show that this was driving him mad, stirring up anger he had fought so hard to keep down. That Jemma had helped him tuck it away. He was stuck here while Jemma, his precious chemist, was out there scared and alone.

May shoot him a dark look. “You didn't tell him.” She said dryly to Coulson.

“What?” The anger over the situation was finally creeping into his voice. Grant didn't try to push it down or away. “What didn't you tell me?” He demanded after no one answered his question.

“We can't do anything.” Coulson answered with a sigh. “You can't do anything. The only way the rest of SHIELD involved themselves was if we sat this one out and let them work.”

He was fuming. Grant grit his teeth, punching something was a very good idea right now. He didn't want to hurt anyone, but there was a rage building. There was always a growing rage in him since the staff, but Jemma helped settle the rage. She distracted it. There was no chemist to distract him now. There was a chemist, his chemist, in danger, hurt, scared, lonely, and it fueled the flames that burned constantly.

His hands are sore. Muscles scream out in protest. He fired out another punch at the bag. And another, and another. Grant didn't care if it hurt, if his body screamed out in protest.

Grant had promised herself he would always protect her and the others. That's what he did, that's what he's always done.

He was supposed to catch her. If. If, that stupid word, he hated it now. She was falling and he couldn't be there to catch her.

He had promised.  
***  
Grant held the ring in his rough hands.

It wasn't much of a wedding band. It was simple with inlaid diamonds. Jemma had loved it when she say it. Naturally, because she loved it, Grant loved it too.

Today was the day.

Was the day.

If things were normal, if everything had just gone like they should have gone, he'd be getting ready. He would have probably been trying to keep his composure as Fitz smirked at the rarely nervous Ward.

But that isn't the case. Grant's sitting alone in a chair in one of the lounges. It's one of the few places that doesn't scream Jemma. That doesn't make memories scream back at him.

It's hard to escape Jemma Simmons.

Being benched was not sitting with him well. He barely talked to anybody unless it was important Oddly enough, silence was the only thing keeping him sane. If barely eating, sleeping, and working out too much qualified as sane.

The team kept their distance. His silence was usually interrupted if there was an update. It didn't happen often, though, there were barely any updates. The other team working the case had only just figured out for sure who it was that took her. A type of terrorist group, not as extreme as you would think when using that term, had taken her.  
There was no proof of life. No ransom or crazy demand for exchange of the scientist.

All signs pointed to her being dead. Grant didn't dwell on those thoughts, tried not to at least.

Their only hope was for them to get cocky and mess up.

“Guys! Uh, you need to see this!” 

The screeching command from Skye worried him. He headed to the holocomm, that's where it came from.

He stopped dead in his tracks. There she was. She wasn't really here, but there on the screen.

There on the screen so close, but too far. Her eyes were closed, and her face was raw from crying. Blood and dirt in varying degrees covered her face, and there was a nasty bruise blooming across her right eye.

“Oh god, Jemma.” He whispered. She was alive, broken and bruised, and bound to a chair. But she was alive. Every rise and fall of her chest was a sign of life.

“How did you get this?” Ward asked, glancing at the hacker.

She smirked with pride, though, it was evident she was upset over the state that Jemma was in. “It was simple really. Track spending and what not, and well that's not important. We need to get home. She doesn't look good.”

They all turned towards Coulson.

“We send in an extraction team.”  
***  
It takes a bit of convincing, but Grant wins out in the end. He argued to till he got his way, though, not completely. He wanted to run the op. It settled the worry about the situation if he had control of what was happening and when. He has experience too.

The SHIELD agent running the investigation refuses Grant's request. He refuses even Grant's presence. It isn't till Coulson steps in and sets it up so that Grant will be allowed on the op, he'll be the one actually getting Jemma, the heavy lifting is up to the rest of the team.

The worry in his stomach is eased by the fact that he'll be the one to see Jemma first. He'll be the one to get her out of there.

It's hard to give most of the control to someone else, but he did it anyway. He had to be there for Jemma, he had to be the one that he saw first.

“All clear, Agent Ward. You have ten minutes at best.” The ordered snapped across the comm.  
There's two guards waiting out side the door. It's no trouble to take them out. The door isn't an issue either. His senses are high alert, ear listening as his eyes searched for Jemma. Everything was to easy so far. Nothing was ever easy.

“Jemma.” It was spoken in a light tone, as if any louder would break him. Maybe it would.

“Come on, Jemma.” He whispered, his gun drawn and ready for the worst. She was supposed to be in here. The darkness and largeness of the damp room wasn't helping. Too many blind spots with from disregarded machines left in ruins. 

Grant stopped in his tracks when his eyes swept across her. It was worse than seeing her bound to that chair. Way worse in his opinion. Jemma wasn't alone like the last time. It would be better if she was. It would be better if there wasn't a knife pressing against the pale delicate skin of her throat and tears sliding down her cheeks. And aiming a gun of his own at Grant.

“Gun down!” The person holding the knife ordered. Grant didn't lower it. No way was he going to play into the others hands.

The person, man to be exact, stepped out more into the light to reveal his identity still using Jemma as a shield. If he wanted some show of recognition to show on Grant's face, he wasn't getting one. Grant didn't recognize him, though, there was something odd about him. He didn't dwell on that thought with Jemma in the position she was in.

“You're probably wondering why now? Why kidnap her and not hold ransom?” He asked with an all to pleased smile on his face.

Grant was wondering. “I have a feeling you're going to tell me any way.” Grant answered sourly.

“Of course I am!” He said, holding the knife firmer against Jemma's skin causing her to cry out. Grant cringed at the sound, but he held his stance firm.

“I bet you thought I missed up. But did I really? I suppose I didn't have to wait as long as I did, but Ms. Simmons is such a lovely thing. Shame for her to be marrying you out of all the people on this Earth.” Jemma struggled against his grip resulting in a thin trickle of blood from her neck.

Calm down, Grant urged in his thoughts.

“Before I go on, call the others off. I know they're waiting. It'd be a shame to spill more even blood of hers.”

Grant complied. So much for not playing into his hands.

“As I was saying; it was quite easy to create a trail. Did you really think it went one way?”

“Then why did you let me get to this point? What do you want?!”

“Because, I needed to get to you. So, this is what I'm going to guarantee: no matter what happens, I will walk away from this. Now, maybe, just maybe, the chemist can walk too. So put down the gun agent Ward.”

“Grant, don't do it! He'll kill you!”

Grant wished it wasn't Jemma's hurt pleading voice that brought things to focus. It was right before Paris, it was actually what led them to Paris in the process. The person in front of him with Jemma was the suspects brother, Zeke Douglass. His brother didn't make it to SHIELD’s custody, he had pulled a gun and Grant reacted.

So this was how Douglass was getting his revenge.

“Jemma, I love you.” He said it with meaning and loud enough for her to hear.

“No!” She didn't struggle against the hand that held her. “Come on, Grant! There has to be another way. There is another way!”

Jemma was right. He didn't want her to be because there was another way. But there was a chance they could both walk away from this, he had to take it.

She nodded at him. Grant changed his aim- wished she wasn't being held the way she was because there was no way to not hit her- and fired.

He yelled commands into his comm as he ran to her. He kicked the gun away from Douglass ,who was in no condition to move for it, before dropping to knees by Jemma's side.

She was crying and she had every right to be. “Shh.” He said as he applied pressure to where she was bleeding. It was lower than he thought it would be.

“I-I'm s-sorry.”

“Don't be. It's not your fault. Just keep your eyes open for me. Keep talking too. Can you do that?” He swept a few stray strands of hair away from her eyes.

She nodded weakly.

“Jems, I need you to talk.”

She didn't answer.

“Jemma.”

“Jemma!”

***

There was a day when he thought he'd see the bright and bubbly with a white gown. A day with their families, mainly her's, and their friends. A day to exchange vows, but they know they don't need them to make it official. It had been official for so long.

There was a day when he thought they'd share more than a bed, more than a moment. A day where the bunk is just too small. A day where they agree that they need a place of their own. A house or an apartment, it doesn't matter. It just had to be home.

There was a day when he thought about family. A family, though that doesn't mean kids. It just means together, and maybe some fish. Or a dog, she's always wanted a dog. Maybe, just maybe, he thought about having a kid, kids. It was a long shot, but it was there in the back of his minds. He didn't think he could be a father, no matter how many times she'd disagree, but she would make a great, wonderful, mother. Her smile, bright and bubbly, would say I-love-you and chase away the monsters under the bed.

There was a day, many days in fact, when he thought about that smile, bright and bubbly. 

There was a fear that he wouldn't see it again except for his memories. 

Bright and bubbly.

It lights up the room. And it shouldn't. It shouldn't because the hospital room is bright enough with it's white clean walls and glaring lights. And it shouldn't because her lips are too cracked. And she looks like hell, bruised face and tired eyes. 

But it does, it brings warmth into the cold room. Because her smiles are always bright and bubbly even if she's not.

“Love you.” She whispered with a hoarse voice.

“Love you too.” He answered, squeezing her hand he's been holding like a life line. 

“I think I missed the wedding.” Jemma attempted a laugh, though it looked like it pained her. Which it probably did.

“It doesn't mater. The groom will be waiting no matter what.” And Grant smiled, bright and bubbly.


End file.
